Looking to snap a three-game Shrine Bowl losing streak to North Carolina, this year's South Carolina coaching staff has called upon Superman, Ironman and the Dynamic Duo.

The quartet is more recognizable by their given names running back Lennel Elmore of Allendale-Fairfax, defensive tackle/fullback Daquan Bowers of Bamberg-Ehrhardt and linebackers Sterling Lucas and Brian Harrison of Orangeburg-Wilkinson. On Thursday, they along with offensive lineman Dalton Freeman of Pelion received the news of their selection to the 44-man Sandlapper roster which will face North Carolina's All-Stars in this year's Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

The 71st edition of the All-Star Game, which also serves to benefit the Greenville Unit Shriners Hospital and 21 other facilities nationwide, will take place Dec. 15 at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg on the campus of Wofford College.

O-W head football coach Reggie Kennedy, an assistant on the Sandlappers' coaching staff headed by Blue Ridge's David Farnham, announced the list on the Web site www.goupstate.com. He said a key factor in their evaluations was using the results from two combines taken over the summer.

"It was a tough process," Kennedy said. "I'm sure there were other kids who were deserving, but we could only take 44."

The selection of Bowers and Freeman was not a surprise, given their high standing in national recruiting circles. Neither has disappointed in leading their respective teams to a share of first place in their regions and play a major role on both sides of the football.

The 6-6, 270-pound Freeman has graded 93 percent in his assignments, has 54 knockdown and 24 pancake blocks in helping junior running back Sean Davis lead the T&D Region in rushing yard with 1,406 and 20 touchdowns. He's also second on the Panthers in tackles (61) and has four sacks.

Kennedy said Freeman fits the mode of what the Sandlapper coaching staff was seeking -- well-coached, well-sized aggressive offensive linemen who will give the quarterbacks (Reed McCollum of Summerville and Richard Mounce of Blythewood) time in the spread package to find their favorite targets - wide receivers A.J. Green and Marquan Jones.

He got no argument from Freeman's father and head coach Ben Freeman.

"(He brings) versatility where they can do some things with him as far as pulling and moving around a little bit if they want to do that with their offense," he said. "He's got the height and the strength I think to be a good pass blocker for them. I'm not sure what scheme they're running, but most of them are running the spread and he's got a good background with that and power football too. So, I think he can give them pretty much whatever they need as far as what they're going to be looking for as far as a scheme."

As for Bowers, Kennedy praised him as "very athletic," "special" and having "a nose for the football." He believes pairing him alongside linemen like Fort Dorchester's Robert Quinn and Newberry's Kantrell Davis will provide a formidable front for the Sandlappers.

"We feel like we can control the line of scrimmage up front, bring some speed off the edges where we can lock down and play some man coverage in our secondary and just really try to get after them on their side of the ball," Kennedy said.

In selecting his Bruin players Lucas and Harrison, Kennedy said the staff sought linebackers who could play in the secondary and provide physical play at the line of scrimmage if necessary.

Harrison leads O-W with 122 tackles and is coming off a 25-tackle effort against Goose Creek. He's closely followed by Lucas who has 113 tackles and has started to receive heavy interest from the University of South Carolina.

"He's a big linebacker, real aggressive who's also a good tackler," said Kennedy about Lucas.

Arguably the biggest surprise selection was the Tigers' Elmore, who was picked as a wide receiver and with Bowers represents the lone Class A Shrine Bowl representatives. Over the past two seasons, the 6-0, 155-pound senior has amassed over 4,200 yards of offense and was the first Tiger selection since Cortney Vincent in 2003.

South Carolina holds a 38-28-4 edge in the series, but has not won since 2004.

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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